3 years ago I had sawfly on my gooseberry bush for the first time. The bush must be not much short of being 100 years old. lots of delicious fruit every year until then. I've tried removing them, spraying with soapy water, using a bug spray, and thinning out the plant. Nothing seemed to work. 2 years ago I had such a small crop it wasn't worth picking. Last year there were 3 gooseberries, and this year, despite spraying with nematodes, there were none, and the sawfly caterpillars were more prolific than ever, even spreading to my redcurrant bush.
I'm tempted to just get rid of the bushes altogether if I can't find a prevention.
They pupate in the soil overwinter so you need to try and kill them off in the soil too, the nematode you spray on them can also be watered into the soil
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3 years ago I had sawfly on my gooseberry bush for the first time. The bush must be not much short of being 100 years old. lots of delicious fruit every year until then. I've tried removing them, spraying with soapy water, using a bug spray, and thinning out the plant. Nothing seemed to work. 2 years ago I had such a small crop it wasn't worth picking. Last year there were 3 gooseberries, and this year, despite spraying with nematodes, there were none, and the sawfly caterpillars were more prolific than ever, even spreading to my redcurrant bush.
I'm tempted to just get rid of the bushes altogether if I can't find a prevention.
I lost all leaves and fruit this year despite spraying - Has anyone any bright ideas??
They pupate in the soil overwinter so you need to try and kill them off in the soil too, the nematode you spray on them can also be watered into the soil
I picked a load off in about April/May and then sprayed with garlic/olive oil emulsion, which seemed to work. Shame I wasn't able to keep it going....